Wednesday, April 17, 2013

How to hook a girl: writing a good personal ad

How do you write a good personal ad? Below is a list of things to include in a personal ad to
catch a woman’s eye. Many have good examples taken from Portland Craigslist
personal ads that men wrote looking for women.

Start with an interesting title. Think of a good hook that
describes you, your personality or interests or something women might like. If
you start you ad with something like, “I enjoyed reading Pride and Prejudice”
or title your ad “Prince Charming looking for Princess,” it will appeal to a woman's romantic side and they will keep
reading. At least a certain demographic of women will. On the other hand, if you didn’t actually enjoy reading Pride and
Prejudice, then that plan isn’t going to work. Certainly the ad titled, “Does
your unborn baby need a father?” was an odd, if not eye-catching ad.

Talk about what you want in a polite and tactful way. Focus
on the positive, not on all the things you don’t want. Here are two well-worded
examples:

“I am honest and drama free and would want the same in
return.”

“I am also physically
fit and looking for the same.”

Describe your interests.

Let your personality show in your word choice and how you
phrase things. It is okay to be quirky and memorable.

“I'm completely ready for a life-long rapturous romance,
friendship, play and a partner to ride the river of life with. Deep and heart-felt
conversation is a must for me, because I believe it's the backbone to true
intimacy.”

Use humor. A hilarious ad had this list:

Employed? Yes
Car? Yes
House? Yes
Funny? Abso-F'n-Lutly
Kids? No
Psyco-x's? Nope! All my stalkers are in the past! Currently taking applications
for future psycho-x's. ;)
Goals? Yes
Adventurous? You have no idea! I've actually considered changing my middle name
to "Adventure".
Attractive? Yes. I'm not Taylor Lautner, but chances are you aren't Megan Fox.
LOL

Be sweet. If it fits your romantic personality to say all
the ways you would like to spoil the woman you love like giving her foot
massages, making chicken soup for her when she has a cold and snuggling, and other sweet gestures, that
will make her heart melt. But again, make sure these are things you actually enjoy.

Be honest (especially about your age). And if you are in an open relationship and seeing other people.

Include an accurate photo of yourself. Here are some tactful,
non-demanding ways to ask for a photo:

“I can provide a photo upon exchange with you.”

“If I sound like someone you'd want to talk to, email me and
tell me about yourself. Pictures are a plus, but really just tell me about you
(age, height, that type of stuff).”

Use a spell check and grammar check. It makes you appear
intelligent and well-educated. And not lazy. It shows you want to make a good
impression.

Be concise and succinct in what you say. Many online ads
don’t have the limits newspapers do, but still be aware of how much you are
saying and the quality of the information. Anything more than a page might be
too long and anything under a paragraph will be too short.

Be sincere. There is no point in saying you want to be a
girl’s Romeo if you hate Shakespeare and won't be able to explain why you said
that later.

For a humorous look on how to make women run, screaming away
from your personal ad, wait for next months's post.

About Me

Though Lady Chastity Chatterley's first publication in the realm of
erotica will soon to be out in Hot Dish, she also has written under
other pseudonyms in magazines and anthologies such as: Daily Science
Fiction, Bards and Sages, New Myths, Penumbra, Crossed Genres, Flagship,
Roar, and has won awards from Allasso and Romance Writers of America.
By day, Chastity Chatterley is often busy chasing pirates in her
dirigible and shooting steam powered laser beams, while by night she
teaches and performs belly dance. One might wonder how she has any
leftover time to test the functions of her "Personal Contraption" (or PC
as some call it), surf the "interweb" as she calls it or use her public
log (or plog). Feel free to visit her at Lady Chatterley's Chat Parlor
and peruse her posts on comma sutra, racy thoughts of the day, lists of
worst first dates or other amusing and sinfully sexy anecdotes.